Hasta La Gadget!

Took ’em long enough, huh? iHome’s iA100 was actually introduced way back in July, and at the time, it was essentially the only iPad-friendly home stereo system on the planet. Now, iHome has a bit of friendly competition out there, but at least it’s getting this guy out on store shelves long before the holiday shopping season hits full swing. For those who missed it the first go ’round, this here docking system touts Bongiovi Acoustics’ DPS technology, an inbuilt alarm clock, Bluetooth and support for the iPad, iPhone and iPod via a 30-pin Dock Connector. Too bad it’ll set you back a full $199.

Continue reading iHome’s iA100 iPad stereo speaker system now on sale for $199

iHome’s iA100 iPad stereo speaker system now on sale for $199 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Oct 2010 03:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re deaf, you don’t have many choices when it comes to portable music. The best way is probably some over-the-ear headphones which don’t touch your hearing aids and send them into a squealing feedback loop. But why not ditch the cans altogether and beam the music straight to the hi-fi buds already nestling in your canals?

That’s exactly what Siemens miniTek will do. It’s a little black box, slightly larger than the current iPod Nano, which can be combined with any of Siemen’s “wireless hearing instruments”. It receives audio from any Bluetooth device (like your phone), equipment that uses an e2e wireless connection, T-coil systems (found in theaters, bank-tellers’ booths and other public places) or a special adapter that can hook into TVs and so on. The remote-like box also has switches to control volume and answer calls, and has a jack for hooking up any other source.

The miniTek is pictured with some rather large earpieces, but will also work with hearing-aids which are recessed completely in the canal. It will run for five hours while streaming, or “several days” as a remote, and charges fully in three hours. For the price, you’ll have to ask your hearing specialist.

This stuff is important. I have a very good friend who has been profoundly deaf since birth. Some years ago, she went to an fancy clinic and they hooked her up to a new kind of machine which let her hear things she’d never heard before. They played classical music. She cried.

Siemens miniTek [Siemens via Engadget]

See Also:

• Amazing Hearing Aids Work with MP3 Players and Phones
• Review: Sleek Audio SA6 In-Ear Headphones Sing to Your Ears …

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See that tiny black box? It’s a streaming audio hub, designed specifically for the hard of hearing who have Siemens earphones buried in their lobes. Connect special Tek transmitters to traditional TVs and stereos, or hook it up directly to a phone, audio player or PC over Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack, and the matchbox-sized, two-ounce remote will wirelessly stream stereo audio from two devices for up to five hours a time. (It’s also apparently got an integrated coil for induction loop audio.) Just don’t expect it to come cheap — it’s a medical product, you know.

[Thanks, Klaus]

Siemens pumps streaming audio to hearing aids with miniTek remote originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 14 Oct 2010 08:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hardcore hobbyists have been controlling their Mindstorms NXT creations with all sorts of paraphernalia for years, but now Lego itself is stepping in to lend a hand. The new MINDroid app just splashed down in the Android Market, and it enables Android 2.1 (or greater) handsets to dictate Mindstorms NXT robots over Bluetooth. According to Lego, tilting / turning the phone can make the robot move forward, turn to the sides, and by pressing an action button on the phone’s screen, activate the ‘Action’ motor. Given that the download will cost you absolutely nothing, what are you waiting for? Your robot army awaits your commands.

Lego’s MINDroid Android app remotely controls Mindstorms NXT robots originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 12 Oct 2010 12:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What was merely an indistinct outline in August is today a bona fide retail product. Cowon has made its X7 PMP official over in South Korea, letting us take a gander at the spec sheet if not necessarily buy one just yet. A 4.3-inch touchscreen takes center stage, backed by up to 160GB of hard drive storage and a battery rated to last for 103 hours of music or 10 hours of video playback. An FM radio tuner, built-in speaker, and Bluetooth chip fill out the “retro modern” body, while the software front reveals DivX-encoded video compatibility and a smattering of your usual note-taking and utility apps. The standard 160GB model is going on sale for 339,000 KRW ($304), or if you’re a globetrotter and need a set of preinstalled dictionaries, it’ll set you back 379,000 KRW ($340). There’s no word on US availability just yet, but this thing didn’t go through the chore of getting certified with the FCC for nothing.

Continue reading Cowon X7 debuts in home market of Korea with 4.3-inch screen, American ambitions

Cowon X7 debuts in home market of Korea with 4.3-inch screen, American ambitions originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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